


the barista special

by orphan_account



Category: Free!, 境界の彼方 | Beyond the Boundary
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-29
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-02 22:24:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1062342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started when Hiroomi drags Haruka to a coffee shop where a boy with kind eyes and a warm smile works. Haruka almost dies of embarrassment twice, Nase siblings scheme, and Makoto is perfect as always (but not really).</p>
            </blockquote>





	the barista special

**Author's Note:**

> bday fic for a friend. unedited/unbeta'd

Haruka blanches as he takes a sip of his coffee. He forces himself to swallow and not gag immediately after. He takes a quick glance at the barista and sighs. _Good, he didn’t notice._ Absentmindedly, he takes another sip of his coffee. Two dollars and twenty five cents for a medium, steaming cup of liquid crap. No matter, Haruka drinks it until nothing is left. He shudders from the bitterness.

 

Again, he glances over to the barista. The barista looks up from whatever he was writing down and smiles at Haruka. Haruka’s heart lurches and he frowns. Turning his head away, he hopes barista boy didn’t see his blush.  _Stupid smile. Stupid barista. Stupid coffee._

 

He mumbles a quick “bye” to the barista boy and leaves, clumsily grabbing his coat and bag. Barista boy smiles again and waves shouting after him, “Come again!”

 

He hates him. He hates him so much. He hates Nase Hiroomi with a burning passion. His friend, Haruka uses that term loosely, was the one that dragged him into that stupid coffee shop in the first place and caused his downfall. He still can’t believe he let Hiroomi convince him to go to a  _coffee_ shop considering the fact that Haruka scrunches his face in disdain whenever a cup of coffee is in a five feet radius of him.

 

Hiroomi ditched class that day much to Haruka’s displeasure (he was going to ask to copy homework). Deciding class wasn’t worth sitting through (especially since he hadn’t done the work), Haruka skipped. He found Hiroomi, as always, on the roof looking up at the sky. Probably cloud gazing or daydreaming about his sister. What a siscon. Haruka interrupted Hiroomi’s thoughts with a loud plop. The swimmer’s backpack was dropped unceremoniously on the ground. The siscon sat up.

 

“Oh? Haruka, you’re skipping class? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Naughty boy.” Hiroomi smirked.

 

Haruka ignored the comment. “I don’t wanna stay on the roof all day. Is the pool open?”

 

Hiroomi, still smirking, said, “Ah, it’s always pool, pool, pool with you Haru-chan. Hmm, I’ll let you swim in the Nase family pool if you come with me somewhere.”

 

Haruka narrowed his eyes, suspicious of Hiroomi’s intentions. That boy never has good intentions, always looking for entertainment in any form. The only one who could control him was his sister, Mitsuki, but she wasn’t there right now. Haruka took a deep breath and closed his eyes, weighing the options. Going with Hiroomi to wherever could lead to him getting in trouble. Not going with Hiroomi meant staying on the roof until school ended with nothing to do. If there was one thing Haruka hated more than not being able to swim, it was boredom.

 

He opened his eyes and Hiroomi smiled, all ready knowing the answer. He walked past Haruka.

 

“Come now, let’s go. I need to buy my sweet little sister something.”

 

Of course. Haruka rolled his eyes. Practically everything Hiroomi did was for Mitsuki. But he said nothing and followed Hiroomi downstairs. The siscon muttered some words under his breath before they entered into the main hallway. An invisibility spell. Having a Spirit Warrior around was useful sometimes. They made it out of the building without being detected.

 

Haruka’s eyes constantly scanned the area as they walk on. His pace was irregular, stopping every once in a while to look around. Sometimes, he’d look back and was tempted to run back to school. Hiroomi, if he took notice of it (he did), said nothing and kept walking as if his friend wasn’t stopping every five minutes.

 

Haruka’s nose scrunched up in disgust. That smell. That damn smell. He quickly covered his nose and backed away. Hiroomi was taking him to a coffee shop! He glared at the boy in front of him.  _Fucking bastard._ He eyed the coffee shop in disdain. His nose could barely take the smell from out here (they were six feet away), there was no way in hell he would survive if he stepped inside.

 

Hiroomi turned his head to look at Haruka. “Come on, Haru, the smell’s not that bad. Actually,” he inhaled. “it smells quite good.”

 

He was all ready at the coffee shop’s entrance and before Haruka could protest, Hiroomi walked in completely ignoring him. Haruka stood there, in the middle of the street, debating with himself whether he should go in or just forget about the pool and go back to school. He hadn’t swam in so long (two days, to be exact); his body was aching to be immersed in water.  _Damn it._ Breathing deeply, Haruka made his way towards the coffee shop. It was called Coffee Sweet Coffee.

 

“Hnn, what a terrible name,” he said and walked in.

 

The bell hanging just slightly higher than the door rang, indicating his entrance. Hiroomi was all ready at the register. Muffins, cookies, more baked goods than Haruka cared to name was laid out before the barista. Hiroomi waved for him to come. Haruka walked over to his friend, trying his hardest not to show his disgust. Thinking it would be safer to keep his head down, he didn’t see the barista giving him an amused smile as he and Hiroomi exchanged glances.

 

“Do you think my sister will like these?” Haruka heard Hiroomi ask the barista.

 

“Ah, I’m sure she’ll like anything you get her. Whether she admits it or not,” the barista said.

 

Something about the barista’s voice caught Haruka’s attention and momentarily made him forget about the awful smell of coffee plaguing this shop and he looked up. His eyes widened slightly and mouth slightly agape. The barista was a boy around his age (he assumed) with locks of brown hair and green eyes so intense it made it hard to look away. And his smile was…well, it was the sweetest thing Haruka had ever seen. Quickly regaining his composure, Haruka coughed and turned his face away. His ears felt hot for some reason.

 

He didn’t catch Hiroomi’s smirk as the barista scanned the wrapped bake goods. Haruka felt like he was suffocating. The smell of coffee and the barista and Hiroomi, it was all too overwhelming. He clenched his fists and bit his lip. _Hurry up all ready!_

 

“That’ll be thirty eight dollars and sixty one cents,” the barista said.

 

That voice, Haruka didn’t know what it was about his voice, but it got to him. That voice, so warm and kind and—Haruka stopped his thoughts, mentally scolding himself for almost waxing poetic about some person he just met. They hadn’t even said a word to each other. He glanced at Hiroomi and scoffed as the other boy chatted with the barista. A part of him (deep, deep, deep down) practically begged Hiroomi to introduce them to each other. Sensing Haruka’s glare (it looked like a glare), Hiroomi turned to his friend and smiled, almost too sweetly (no, it was too sweet).

 

“Ah, I almost forgot. How rude of me. Haru, this is Makoto. He’s a barista. Makoto, this is Haruka. He prefers being called Haru-chan—”

 

“No, I don’t.” Haruka interrupted.

 

Hiroomi ignore him and continued with what he was saying. “He prefers being called Haru-chan. He’s a swimmer, very talented but oh, is that talent wasted on this lazy boy.”

 

Haruka sent Hiroomi another glared. He really had no idea how they became friends or why he was still friends with this asshole. The barista, Makoto, smiled again and Haruka felt his heart stop (almost, just almost).

 

“Ah, I think I’ll just call him Haru. Welcome to Coffee Sweet Coffee, Haru. I hope you come again sometime,” Makoto said, still smiling.

 

The swimmer gulped. He didn’t know how to reply. He couldn’t say he hated coffee. If he did, then he’d have no excuse to come back and see Makoto—wait, did he really just think that?  _Damn it all. Damn it all to hell._ Maintaining his composure, Haruka said, “Stupid name for a coffee shop.”

 

Haruka had never wanted to disappear more in his life than at this very moment in time. Hiroomi chuckled and Haruka wanted to die. He was pretty sure it would happen soon: death by embarrassment.

 

 

Makoto chuckled. “Yeah, it isn’t the best name, but it is home. I kinda like the corniness of it. It has a charm to it, don’t you think?” He looked at Haruka with  _those_ eyes and Haruka nearly choked on his saliva.

 

“Y-yeah, whatever. I don’t care.”  _Smooth, real smooth._

 

It was amazing to him how Makoto could still keep a smile on his face for that long. Especially to someone as rude as Haruka. He wasn’t going to deny it; he’s rude and most people kept away from him because of that.

 

“You should come back sometime. We have weekly specials and next week is half off on any size medium drink,” Makoto said.

 

Haruka blanched. Most of what they had here was coffee. And he obviously couldn’t get water since that’d defeat the purpose of coming to coffee shop in the first place. Not wanting to put his foot in his mouth again, he simply nodded. Makoto looked at him with warm eyes and he turned around heading for the door and told Hiroomi to hurry up before he escaped through the door.

 

How was he supposed to act normal around Makoto when that boy looked at him with such warm, kind eyes. It wasn’t fair. He was fine, completely fine, being apathetic to anything, except swimming. But now, his heart raced for something else. He mentally cursed Hiroomi to hell for dragging him here. He should’ve seen it coming; Hiroomi never did anything simply just to do it. He did it to toy with others and Haruka got played big time.  _Damn you, Hiroomi._

 

“Ah, cursing me again, Haru?”

 

Haruka stared coldly at the other boy. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

 

Hiroomi shrugged. “Hmmm, I don’t think I can plan these things. Oh, could this be your first crush, Haru?” The smirk on Hiroomi’s face bothered Haruka more than it usually would.

 

“I hate you.” Pausing, he decided to add, “And I hate coffee.”

 

The siscon merely smiled and headed in the farther down the street. “Come on, Haru, my cute little sister is waiting for me and I’m sure there’s a swimming pool waiting for you too.”

 

He’s sitting in class, not paying attention. His thoughts were preoccupied by that vivid memory. Hiroomi, that bastard. Groaning softly, Haruka replays scene from this morning in his head. He can’t believe he actually went back to that stupid coffee shop. The fact that he went back three times all ready is nothing short of embarrassing. He keeps his visits short and as inconspicuous as possible. Makoto always sees him. Always. His stomach starts to churn at the thought. Makoto sees him and rather than come over and bombard him with questions, he leaves Haruka alone. It’s almost as if Makoto can sense his feelings.

 

He shakes his head. What a stupid thought. He met Makoto only three weeks ago. Even his parents aren’t that perceptive when it comes to his feelings. He blinks and turns his attention to the board, trying to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. As he’s carelessly copying down some equations from the board, his mind wanders back to Makoto. Makoto and his stupid coffee job. Makoto and his kind eyes and warm smile. Makoto and his stupid hair. Makoto and his stupid height. Makoto and—Haruka stops himself and slams his head onto his desk. He did it again.

 

It’s an internal struggle in Haruka’s head. A part of him wants to go see Makoto again but another part, the more rational part (or at least Haruka likes to think it is), tells him it’s too obvious and he won’t last another minute in the coffee shop. Somehow, Haruka ends up in front of Coffee Sweet Coffee. His feet must have carried him there on their own. He turns around to head home and stops. He might as well go in since he’s all ready here.

 

Sighing, Haruka pushes the door open and steps in. The first thing he sees is Makoto wiping a table with one hand and balancing some cups with the other. Haruka slips into the nearest seat and holds up a menu to cover his face, pretending to read it. He’s so concentrated on the menu that he doesn’t see a person coming towards him.

 

“Uhh, hello, sir? Would you like to order anything?”

 

Haruka’s head snaps up and he stares at Makoto. “Uhh…”

 

“Oh! Haru, it’s you. Did you want another Hazelnut brew?” Makoto asks.

 

“Uh. No. Thanks…”

 

Makoto tilts his head to the side. “Eh? Then would you like a brownie? Cookies?”

 

“No.” Haruka quickly gets up and heads out, leaving Makoto dumbfounded. Instead of going home like he originally planned, Haruka runs to the Nase household. He messed up again. Twice in one day. If he could punch himself hard enough to knock himself out, he would do it. That’s better than feeling this overwhelming embarrassment. Not knocking, he rushes into the Nase household and makes a beeline for Hiroomi’s room. Not there. He runs down the hall to Mitsuki’s room. He’s about to barge in until he sees the name tag hanging on the door. Right, this is Mitsuki’s room; he should knock (she’d beat him if he didn’t).

 

He knocks three time, hears some shuffling from inside, and Hiroomi’s face is there when the door is opened. The siscon smiles at his friend, not expecting him to come today.

 

“Haru! My, what a surprise. May I ask what the occasion is?”

 

Haruka glares. “Shut up and let me in.”

 

Hiroomi opens his mouth to tease the swimmer some more until a feminine voice interrupts him. “Don’t tease him anymore. Just let him in, onii-chan. From what you told me, I think Haruka suffered enough.”

 

Hiroomi gives in and steps aside. Haruka enters Mitsuki’s room. He looks around, trying to find a place to sit since this is his first time in her room. Mitsuki pats the beanie chair next to her. He plops down next to her, not saying anything. Hiroomi, who’s sitting on Mitsuki’s right, moves forward to get a good look at his friend.

 

“Hmm, so what happened?” he asks, sounding somewhat concerned (an improvement for Hiroomi).

 

When he doesn’t get a reply, Hiroomi frowns. “Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad. I mean, the worst that could happen is he hates you. Or worse! He thinks you hate him and quits his job and moves to another city never to be heard from again. And then years later, you see him happily involved with someone who isn’t emotionally constipated. And you go back to your lonely apartment and cry while watching romantic comedies while wishing you could be the one who got the boy.”

 

Mitsuki takes the pillow she was holding and smacks it across Hiroomi’s face. She gives him a stern look before turning to Haruka who has pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his knees. Mitsuki, not usually one to comfort others, pats his shoulder.

 

“Don’t listen to my stupid onii-chan. He’s just joking around, although it is a bad joke. But you know him, he’s known for his bad jokes and sister complex.” Still no response. She continues. “Listen, you can tell us—me—anything. We’re not really friends but I’m sure I give better advice than onii-chan. Come on, tell me. It can’t be  _that_ bad.”

 

Mitsuki waits a moment. Haruka lifts his head, still looking down. It takes another minute before he speaks. “I went back to the coffee shop after school. I…He asked me if I wanted to order anything and I just ran out. He thinks I hate him.”

 

Though it isn’t showing much on his face besides a small frown, Mitsuki can feel the anguish in his voice. Furrowing her brow, she leans over and wraps her arms around Haruka’s shoulders (which caused Hiroomi to gasp in shock and faint momentarily).

 

“He doesn’t hate you. He’s probably just…confused. Since, you know, you did run out for no reason. Why don’t you go back and explain that you had to, I don’t know, use that bathroom really badly or something.” Mitsuki shrugs.

 

Haruka looks at her as if that were the dumbest excuse he’s ever heard and she shrugs again. Hiroomi, now recovered from the shock of seeing his precious sister hug his friend, sits up and smiles.

 

“We’ll go with you.”

 

Haruka opens his mouth to protest.

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you. You all ready did that yourself anyway.”

 

Mitsuki and Haruka both shoot him a glare. It takes a few more minutes of convincing Haruka that Makoto doesn’t hate him for him to finally agree to go back and explain. The trio walk side-by-side with Haruka in the middle, just in case he makes a run for it, they can easily grab him and drag him to the coffee shop if necessary. Haruka hasn’t looked up since they left the house. Hiroomi has never seen his friend act like this before. It’s odd, that he’s certain of. He concludes it’s probably because this is Haruka’s first crush and that’s why the swimmer is acting so unlike his usually composed self. Though he isn’t that much different. He still doesn’t communicate well, zones out in class, and has an affinity for swimming and water.

 

It isn’t long before they reach the coffee shop. Haruka turns his body attempting to run away but both Nase siblings catch on and grab his arms.

 

“Uh uh, you’re not getting away that easily,” Mistuki says, smiling too sweetly.

 

They open the door and push Haruka in first, following him shortly after. The commotion catches Makoto’s attention. He waves and heads over to the trio.

 

“Ah, Mitsuki, it’s been a while since you’ve been here,” he says.

 

Mitsuki shrugs. “Onii-chan goes here for me.”

 

Makoto smiles, nodding, understanding the situation. Perceptive, as always. He turns his attention to Haruka who’s still staring at the ground.

 

“Ah, Haru, I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t know it was you. If I had, I would’ve left you alone until you were ready to order. Ahh…sorry for making you uncomfortable,” Makoto says, concern written all over his face.

 

Hiroomi nudges Haruka. He finally looks up. Composing himself and reigning in his facial expression, Haruka sighs. “No, it wasn’t you’re fault. I…I just had to go to the bathroom. Really badly.” He cringes at the excuse.

 

“Huh? We have a bathroom right here. Why didn’t you use that one?” Makoto asks, confused.

 

“I didn’t know,” Haruka deadpans.

 

Makoto laughs. A real laugh. He’s bent over and slapping his thigh and holding his stomach. Face flashing and eyes filled with tears, he tries to swallow back the laugh and stands up straight. The others looking at him curiously, not sure what was so funny to cause him to laugh like that.

 

“I’m—” He’s still laughing. Trying again, Makoto bites back the laugh threatening to spill out. “I’m sorry. It’s just—he said it so seriously!” And Makoto’s laughter spills out from his mouth. Mitsuki soon joins in because it’s true, Haruka did say it so seriously it was comical. Hiroomi chuckles; Haruka has perfected his deadpan sense of humor. Still not sure of what was going on, Haruka looks at his friends and Makoto curiously. He bites back the smile he can feel about to burst onto his lips.  _Makoto’s laugh is nice._

 

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Hiroomi suggested they stay after closing hours to enjoy some coffee and water for Haruka (he winks at his friend) since Haruka all ready had too much coffee today. Mitsuki likes the idea (much to Hiroomi’s pleasure) and sets the table closest to the corner of the shop. Hiroomi happily helps her placing plates and cups in a neat fashion. Makoto brews whatever coffee is left (hazelnut) and pours it into three cups. He goes back and grabs a bottle for Haruka who accepts it with no hesitation.

 

Mitsuki slids into her seat first with Hiroomi sliding in next to her immediately. That left Haruka to sit next to Makoto. Just by the look on the Nase siblings faces, Haruka has no doubt in his mind he was set up. And so was Makoto. But the barista doesn’t seem to mind (or have a clue as to what’s going on). Mitsuki and Makoto share a few stories, catching up since they haven’t seen each other in a while. Hiroomi listens in on their conversation, occasionally adding a comment and sipping his coffee. Haruka stays silent, not sure what to say. But it’s nice. This warmth that he doesn’t feel at home; this warmth is here with his friends and Makoto, who he hopes considers him a friend.

 

After they finish their second cup of coffee, Mitsuki pushes Hiroomi off the seat so she can get out. “Sorry, I have to go to the bathroom. Onii-chan, come with me.”

 

The boys raise their eyebrows at her. Even Hiroomi is surprised by his sister’s command.

 

“What? I just need him to hold something for me while I go. Hmph.”

 

Seeing that she’s mad, Hiroomi quickly gets up and grabs her hand. “Oh, my sweet little sister, I’m sorry for not listening to you right away! I have failed you!”

 

She makes a disgusted face at him, nose scrunched up and all. “Cut the dramatics and just come, you pervert.” She turns to Makoto and Haruka. “See you guys in a bit. Have fun.”

 

With that, Mitsuki drags her brother away to the back of the shop.

 

“So what do you need me to hold?” he asks.

 

“Nothing. I lied so we can leave them alone on their date. Come on, I want some candy apple.”

 

Hiroomi smiles at his sister’s cleverness. They exit through the backdoor and hurry away from the shop before the other two notice anything.

 

The silence between them is not so much awkward as it is weird. Haruka can’t explain it. He’s quiet and he doesn’t talk much. People would usually try to strike up a conversation with him. But not Makoto. He glances at the other boy. Makoto is just sitting there with his eyes closed and sipping his coffee as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

 

“I don’t think they’re coming back,” Haruka says after a few minutes.

 

Makoto hums softly and looks at him, smiling. “Yeah, I don’t think so either. We were ditched, weren’t we?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

They go back to being silent. It isn’t as weird as the first time. Haruka leans back into his chair and closes his eyes as well. This is relaxing. This calmness—he hasn’t felt it in so long. Not since his grandma died and his parents began working overtime leaving him to himself. It’s nice being able to share a moment of silence with someone. Smiling, Haruka’s glad that someone is Makoto.

 

“Ah, it’s getting late. Hmm, it’s dark out. Come on, I’ll walk you home, Haru,” Makoto says looking at his watch.

 

“Oh. You don’t have to.”

 

Makoto shakes his head. “I know. I want to.” A smile.

 

Damn it. Haruka can’t refuse now. He slides off the seat and waits for Makoto to get up. Once Makoto is next to him, Haruka gives him a quick look down.  _Makoto’s really tall._ That’s a known fact, but when he’s standing next to Haruka, it feels different. It feels as if Makoto can protect him from anything, even the loneliness that sometimes hits him when he least expects it. The taller boy motions for him to follow and they step out of the shop. Makoto turns off the lights on their way out and locks the door.

 

“Where do you live?” he asks.

 

Haruka points west and they head that way. It’s dark save for a few streetlight here and there. The distance between them gets smaller and smaller the closer they get to Haruka’s house. Sometimes Makoto’s hand would brush against his and he’d have to will himself not to jerk away from utter embarrassment. In truth, he’s getting tired of this. He’s not the shy type. He doesn’t get embarrassed easily. This whole thing is dumb. Taking a deep breath, Haruka grabs Makoto’s hand and holds it firmly.

 

They stop walking; Makoto can only stare at Haruka with wide eyes.  _Damn it, do something all ready!_

 

Just as Haruka’s about to let go, Makoto squeezes back, assuring him that it’s okay. He smiles at the shorter boy and they continue on their way.

 

“Wow, you live up there?” Makoto can’t disguise his surprise (it’s not like he’s trying).

 

“Yeah.” Haruka shuffles his feet, unsure of what to do next. “Umm. Thank you for walking me home. Even if you didn’t have to.”

 

Makoto smiles. “I told you, it’s cause I want to. Thank you for letting me walk you home.”

 

Haruka looks at Makoto and furrows his brow. “That’s a weird thing to thank someone for.”

 

This time Makoto laughs. “Hmm, I guess. But it was a pleasure walking you home. We should do it again sometime.”

 

Haruka smiles. “Yeah, we should. Thanks for the date, Makoto.” He leans up and kisses the other boy. He expects the kiss to be short, with Makoto pulling away. To his surprise, Makoto wraps his arm around his waist and pulls him in, deepening the kiss. Heat surges through Haruka’s body as he opens his mouth to let Makoto’s tongue in, exploring every part of it. They break apart, panting and flushed.

 

“Sorry, I got carried away,” Makoto says.

 

“It’s fine. I like it. Do it again next time, okay?” Haruka doesn’t wait for an answer and leans up for another kiss. This one shorter, chaste. He pulls away quickly and runs up the steps to his house. “Bye.” And runs into his house without another word.

 

Makoto stands there for another moment, touching his lips. Smiling, he says, “Goodnight, Haru. Sweet dreams.” He lingers there for a moment longer before heading home, still smiling of course.

 

Haruka comes to Coffee Sweet Coffee the next day, feeling much better than he had in the past few weeks. He’s hoping Makoto will walk him home again. Said boy is working the register and smiles as he sees Haruka. The shorter boy walk over to the front of the register.

 

“I want a brownie,” he says.

 

Makoto ruffles his hair affectionately. “That’ll be two dollars and fifty cents, please.”

 

“What? No boyfriend discount?” Haruka pouts.

 

Smiling, the taller boy says, “Sorry, no favoritism here.”

 

Huffing, Haruka pays for his brownie. Makoto tilts his head to the side. “Do you want some coffee?”

 

Haruka shrugs. “Not really. I’m gonna be late. Walk me home later.”

 

As he turns to leave, Makoto grabs his arm. Haruka looks back questioningly. Makoto immediately lets go and apologizes for grabbing him so suddenly.

 

“I can’t walk you home today. I—I have some errands to run. I’m sorry.”

 

Again, Haruka shrugs. “Whatever.” Leaving the shop, his shoulders drop. It isn’t whatever, but there’s nothing he can do about it. He walks to school in a daze. The whole school daze passes in a daze and he can’t even remember if he actually went to school or not. Instead of stopping by to see Makoto, Haruka ends up going with Hiroomi to his house. He’s still upset by this morning. Hiroomi doesn’t comment on his especially sour mood. As they reach the Nase household, Mitsuki calls them into her room.

 

“I wanna play Candyland.”

 

And so they played Candyland for five hours straight. It’s around nine when Haruka leaves. Deciding to visit Makoto, he heads for the coffee shop. They’re still open and Makoto’s break time should be around this time. He walks in, scanning the place for Makoto only to find him sitting with someone in a deep conversation. Makoto’s eyes are completely focused on this boy with fiery red hair and shark-like teeth. He’s making the most ridiculous facial expressions Haruka has ever seen and his arm gestures are obnoxious. But Makoto—his eyes tell a different story. He’s looking at this red-haired boy with fondness and Haruka feels his heart breaking in two.

 

He reaches for the doorknob and stumbles out, running as fast as he can to his house. He makes it there, panting and looking up the steps. “Some errand that was, huh.”

 

For the first time since his grandma died, Haruka cries himself to sleep that night.

 

He doesn’t go to the coffee shop the next day. Or the day after that. He plans on avoiding Makoto for the rest of his life. Hiroomi sighs, oblivious to what’s going on with Haruka, but still concerned. After a week of Haruka acting miserable, he drags him back to the Nase household after school so Mitsuki can deal with him. She’s much better at these things than he is, anyway.

 

Mtsuki looks up from the book she’s reading to see her brother and Haruka standing at the door. “Come on.”

 

Hiroomi pulls Haruka in and the boy stumbles a bit before sitting down on a beanie chair. Mitsuki raises an eyebrow and looks to her brother for an answer. He shrugs and mouths “help him.” Sighing, she hops off her bed and plops down next to the sulking boy.

 

“It’s Makoto,” she says.

 

Haruka says nothing and inches away from her.

 

“Come on, Haru, we’ve been through this all ready. I thought you guys were good. I mean, you told us you held hands and kissed just last week. What happened?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

Mitsuki sighs again. “It doesn’t look like nothing to me.” She reaches over to her the top of her drawer and grabs her phone. Turning it on, she shoves it in Haruka’s face. “Makoto has been calling me non-stop for the past week asking about you. Not just me, he’s been calling onii-chan too. What happened?”

 

He shrugs. “Some red-haired…”

 

Hiroomi puts the pieces together. “Makoto was with someone else?”

 

“What? Are we talking about the same Makoto? He wouldn’t do something like that,” Mitsuki says.

 

Haruka pushes himself up. He’s had enough. They don’t understand. They’ll side with Makoto, just like everyone else. Without another word, he walks out. The look on his face tells Mitsuki and Hiroomi to not follow him or stop him. They can only watch him go, exchanging worried glances.

 

He doesn’t bother going anywhere near the coffee shop. It doesn’t matter anymore so why should he bother? He heads straight home, wanting to just sleep for a few days. He’s just so exhausted with worrying over someone other than himself. Yet somehow, he doesn’t want to have never not meet Makoto.  _Stupid Makoto._

 

He stops abruptly. There’s someone standing at the steps. He can’t make out who it is because of the darkness. Cautiously, Haruka creeps closer until he can get a better view. The figure turns around after Haruka accidentally steps on a small branch. He curses silently. A hand grabs his arm firmly. He jumps back only to be pulled forward by said hand.

 

“Haru, please don’t avoid me!”

 

Makoto’s voice. Haruka’s eyes narrow. “What are you doing here? Let me go.”

 

“Not until you tell me why you’ve been avoiding me.”

 

Haruka scowls and pushes Makoto away. “You’re telling me you don’t know? You didn’t walk me home just so you can talk to some stupid redhead with ugly teeth!” He clenches his fists, seething with anger.

 

“E-eh? Redhead…?” A lightbulb flickers in Makoto’s head. “Oh. Oh! You mean Rin? He’s not—it’s not what you think.” Makoto’s chuckling now, relief washing over him. It’s just a misunderstanding. He was worried that Haruka had lost interest in him. “Rin’s just a friend. He was visiting from Australia and we were catching up. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

 

Haruka blinks. “Friend from Australia? Then—then why did you tell me you were running some errands?”

 

“I was! Rin was staying at my house for a few days and my mom told me to pick him up and help him get settle in. Wa-wait, how do you know about Rin?” Makoto asks, curious and a bit suspicious.

 

The shorter boy gulps and looks away, anywhere but Makoto. He takes a step back. Makoto takes a step forward, not relenting. They have a staring contest and Haruka’s a goner. Sighing, he gives in.

 

“I went back to see you and saw you with…Rin.”

 

Smiling warmly at him, Makoto pulls Haruka into an embrace. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding and for not telling you. You didn’t have to be jealous of Rin.”

 

Huffing, Haruka pounds his fist against Makoto’s chest. “I wasn’t jealous. Who would be jealous of some guy with weird shark teeth anyway?”

 

Makoto leans down and rubs his nose against Haruka’s. “You.” He kisses the pouting boy. He pulls away, not letting go of Haruka. “Mmm, want me to walk you home tomorrow?”

 

“Whatever.” Haruka pulls away from the embrace and runs up the steps. “I wasn’t jealous,” he says before heading into his house.

 

Smiling fondly at him, Makoto simply says, “Goodnight, Haruka. Sweet dreams.”

 

Makoto heads home with a smile on his face. “Ah, it’s really nice out today.”


End file.
